Originally Posted by tommypeters
Originally Posted by rogerwalk
Rod,
You are raising a very important point: How good does the modified Oppo SOUND with e.g. SACDs via the HDMI or the 4x S/PDIF outputs as compared to a high-end SACD player with an excellent D/A converter and all-analog outputs? Is there an A/B comparison somewhere? Is it possible to compare the two using a Meridian G68/HD621 combo with a modified Oppo vs. e.g. a Lexicon RT-10? Do the Meridian's analog inputs pass the analog signal through to its speaker outputs without any D/A conversions?
If you send analogue signals to a Meridian they will always be digitzed since "all" processing inside Meridian is digital. The ADC's in Meridian processors are said to be pretty good, the problem is usually that cheaper players don't have so good DAC implementations (even though the specs are just fine). And of course, even with good components there's two extra conversions compared to straight digital.


Are you sure that the G68 converts the signal from its analog inputs to digital and back for its analog outputs even when the "Direct" mode is used? I have connected my SACD player by analog connections to the G68 and use "Direct" on the AUX channel. I thought that this path is analog from source to speaker. I could never get a straight answer from Meridian about this (similar to my question whether the "balanced" outputs have balanced output stages or not).

G68XXV, Oppo BDP83, Forsell CD, Audio Syn DAX-2, LG LSS-3200A TV box, Krell amps, Apogee Diva(M) & Duetta(R), Dunlavy HRCC(C), Audio Physics Virgo(S), Velodyne DD-15 sub, Transparent cables, Fujitsu LPF-D711 projec, Draper 10'screen.